1. Samsung Galaxy S6
Price when reviewed: 32GB, £600 inc VAT
Samsung finally kicked out plastic for its latest smartphone design
and, aside from a couple of reservations, the result is a triumph. The
S6 looks glorious with Gorilla Glass 4 at the front and rear and
coloured metal beneath it to give it a glitzy, shimmering look. And
Samsung has significantly beefed up the innards without impacting on
battery life negatively.
The highlight, however, is the improved camera, which now boasts
optical image stabilisation and a wide f/1.9 aperture for stunning image
capture in all conditions.
The S6 edge is just as good and arguably the more attractive device,
but its unusual curved screen and the fact that there's no 32GB option
bumps the price of an already expensive phone up to an eye-watering
£760. Buy the S6: you won't regret it.
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2. Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
Price when reviewed: £348 inc VAT
Sony’s pint-sized smartphone packs in a host of premium features without the high-end price.
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3. Nexus 5
Price when reviewed: £199 inc VAT
Google has finally killed off the Nexus 5, but if you can get your
hands on one it remains a superb smartphone. The price is significantly
lower than most flagship devices and is set to drop yet further, which
is why it's still one of our favourite smartphones. The design is
impressive, it's as powerful as you need and the screen is great.
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4. Samsung Galaxy S5
Price on 30/03/15: £330 inc VAT
There's an awful lot to like about the Samsung Galaxy S5: it's
good-looking, tough, big, feature rich and we love the user-replaceable
battery and memory expansion. It's a great smartphone in every way, and
now that the S6 is here, the price is more reasonable. If you're not
precious about the way your phone looks, the Samsung Galaxy S5 is a
great buy.
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5. iPhone 6
Price when reviewed: £539 inc VAT
It's a brave new world for Apple's larger iPhone, and it's much the
better for it. Super-fast, beautiful to look at and lovely to use. It's
the dictionary definition of a flagship handset.
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6. Motorola Moto G
Price when reviewed: £140 inc VAT
A high-quality budget Android handset with an excellent screen and
decent battery life. There's now a 4G version as well, for those
hankering after faster mobile data.
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7. HTC One M9
Price when reviewed: £580 inc VAT
HTC took the One M8's design and refined it for 2015, creating a
truly stunning smartphone. The internals have been upgraded as well:
Qualcomm's octa-core Snapdragon 810 SoC; the camera goes from the M8's
4-megapixel snapper to 20 megapixels; and HTC has added a host of
features to its Sense Android launcher software.
It's a beautifully crafted and highly competent smartphone, just like last year's HTC One M8. But it's only a small improvement on the M8.
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8. LG G3
Price when reviewed: £459 inc VAT
LG rustles up a classy, top-rung smartphone, with a ridiculously
high-resolution screen and super-fast camera; but that display takes its
toll on battery life.
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9. Samsung Galaxy Note 4
Price when reviewed: £599 inc VAT
Samsung has produced the finest phablet yet. In addition to a new
Quad HD display and a smart new look, Samsung has bumped up the speed,
battery life, camera quality and range of features – big-screened phones
don't get any better.
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10. Samsung Galaxy Note Edge
Price when reviewed: £609 inc VAT
With most of the same features as the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and a
funky curved-edge display, it’s hard to criticise the Edge. However,
that curved display, intriguing as it is, both adds to the cost and
impacts upon both battery life and build quality – and that's enough to
cement the Note 4 as our large-screen smartphone of choice.
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11. Nexus 6
Price when reviewed: £499 inc VAT
The Nexus 6 has taken us by surprise in the short time we’ve
had it. Once you sidle past the unavoidable fact of its gargantuan size,
there’s an awful lot it does right. Battery life is good, the camera is
excellent, and the build and design quality are second to none. And
although its rivals hold an edge over it in many areas, the differences
aren’t huge.
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12. iPhone 6 Plus
Price when reviewed: £619 inc VAT
Apple’s 5.5in giant isn’t for everyone, but for some it may prove the
perfect mid-point between an iPad and iPhone. And contrary to initial
reports, our long-term review sample hasn't suffered from any undue
bending - it's remained rock-solid in the face of all the abuse we've
dished out.
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13. Samsung Galaxy Alpha
Price when reviewed: £550 inc VAT
The Galaxy Alpha is Samsung's best-looking smartphone to date, but it's short on features and the price is too high. Come the 10th April and the release of the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, we suspect the Galaxy Alpha will be consigned to the scrapheap.
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14. Motorola Moto X
Price when reviewed: £419 inc VAT
Motorola’s second-generation Moto X hits most of the right notes,
coupling beautiful design with a hatful of innovative and useful
features.
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15. Nokia Lumia 930
Price when reviewed: £419 inc VAT
The Lumia 930 is a knock-out from the first moment you pick it up.
It's a Windows Phone device, so it can't compete on apps, but the design
of Nokia's flagship is sumptuous and right up there with the best
around.
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16. Sony Xperia Z2
Price when reviewed: £440 inc VAT
Sony proves that big really is beautiful; the Xperia Z2 provides a
long-lasting alternative to the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the HTC One M8.
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17. Sony Xperia Z3
Price when reviewed: £477 inc VAT
The successor to the Z3 isn't that much different. It's a touch
slimmer and lighter than the Z2, the screen is brighter, and the
processor is clocked a fraction higher, but almost everything else is
the same. It's a very good Android device, and if you can still find a
Z2 for sale it will be much cheaper and almost as good.
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18. Motorola Moto E
Price when reviewed: £79 inc VAT
Makes plenty of compromises to keep costs down, but performs where it
counts; the Moto E is another winner from Motorola at a highly tempting
price. This is the best sub-£100 handset by a country mile.
